Operating Principles of Photodiodes

doi:10.1117/3.2536930.ch4

Book: Narrow-Gap Semiconductor Photodiodes

Author(s): Antoni Rogalski, Krzysztof Adamiec, Jaroslaw Rutkowski

Published: 2000

https://doi.org/10.1117/3.2536930.ch4

Author Affiliations +

Abstract

Photoeffects that occur in structures with built-in potential barriers are essentially photovoltaic and result when excess carriers are injected optically into the vicinity of such barriers. The role of the built-in electric field is to cause the charge carriers of opposite sign to move in opposite directions depending upon the external circuit. Several structures are possible to observe the photovoltaic effect.